Hi Everyone - first post here and it seems there are quite a few experts here so hope someone can help.
A little background - I just installed a Honeywell HE240 whole house humidifier 2 months ago and i'm having trouble even reaching 30% RH in my house let alone a desired RH of 40%. I'm in a 2200 sq.ft home and I know this model was the right size. I'm in Toronto area in Canada and the temp outside is around -5C to -15C this time of year. I'm in a 2 year old modern home and i know this house was built AIR TIGHT.
Anyway, I put the humidistat all the way to ON because it cannot go past 25% RH in most days. There is proper water flow and drainage so I dont think there's an issue there. Filter media seems wet too. I did set the solenoid valve to open when the fan or heat is on. Since the humidifier works by air pressure, i set the fan to run 15 minutes every hour on my Nest thermostat regardless if heat is on so I can allow the humidifier to circulate more moisture. No luck! I'm at ropes end here and asking for help. Is there anything i'm missing here?
Thank you.
Are you running an hrv or erv too much? Most newer houses have the opposite issue. They have too much moisture.
That's what I've been reading too so it's odd that I'm experiencing this. Yes I do have an HRV but I fully turned it off just to see if it made a difference. Still nothing. I'm thinking maybe to change to an ERV for latent recovery too but shouldn't have to be doing that if I have a humidifier.
No point in switching to an erv. It wouldn't make a big enough difference. My opinion would be that you'd need your house tested to see what the actual humidity is and where you're losing it.
After further trouble shooting it shows no changes to the RH upstream compared to downstream! 25% in and 25% out. I'm totally confused now...
Only thing I can think of now is inadequate water flow. If it makes it easier, i've attached a short video of the water flow in action. Is this water flowing at an appropriate rate or too little?
More than enough water. Is there a hole behind the pad and a connection to the supply? As in moving air through the humidifier? You still have some kind of building issue though. You should have too much humidity if anything.
Yes of course. I had cut a hole for the humidifier and another hole for the bypass duct. My humidifier is also on the cold side and the bypass duct is being fed directly to the pad. Hot air passes through the pad so it should be better for evaporating the water.